What about the other 364 days of the year? OPINION I <3 Fresno State kicks off with campus involvement FEATURES Love comes from the brain, not the heart SCIENCE
WEDNESDAY Issue February 13, 2013 FRESNO STATE
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Wanted: transparency and Valley ties Presidential search committee holds open meeting, hears concerns from university community
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CSU Trustee Pete Mehas (left) and CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White express their gratitude to the students, faculty, staff and community members who aired their concerns to the university's presidential search committee.
By Haley Lambert The Collegian Fresno State is in the market for a new president. On Monday morning the people responsible for the search gathered in the Satellite Student Union for an open meeting. “Our task is both profoundly simple and profoundly difficult and that is to find the best person. Not the best person possible, but the best person,” said
Timothy P. White, chancellor of the California State University (CSU) system. The open meeting allowed students, staff, faculty and community members to make suggestions regarding the qualities and character of the university’s next president. Indeed, comment and critique varied, yet several issues remained consistent. One topic consistently brought up by those speaking before the committee
Floral lab and farm market engage for Valentine's Day By Brianna Vaccari The Collegian The Fresno State floral lab and the Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market are stocked up for Valentine’s Day with red and pink ribbons, heart-shaped boxes and plenty of flowers as Fresno State students, faculty and the surrounding community prepare to spoil their sweethearts. A week before the day, the lab was taking orders and prepping flowers. By that time the Fresno State floral lab already had 30 orders for Valentine’s Day. In the week before Valentine’s Day, Elisa Valdez, manager of the floral lab, expected the number of orders to dou-
ble. She said that the lab normally does 50 deliveries and has up to 35 pick-up orders every year for Valentine’s Day. The lab can sell up to 62 dozen roses, for Valentine’s Day — and that is not including the bouquets of mixed flowers and other heart-shaped goodies it offers. To meet the demand, Valdez said the schedule for the floral lab employees is maxed out. The lab normally places its order on Jan. 20, three weeks before Valentine’s Day and long before any orders are placed. “We’re taking a big risk,” Valdez said. See VALENTINE, Page 3
was its current policy in which the candidates will not be met by the faculty, staff or students. Music professor Benjamin Boone spoke on behalf of the faculty from the College of Arts and Humanities. He said the academic senate passed a resolution meant to counter the committee’s policy. The resolution was a collective request from university representatives to the presidential search committee. With it they asked that fac-
ulty members be allowed to meet potential candidates. “This request is fully in line with the board of trustees policy for the selection of presidents, which states, ‘There is a deep commitment throughout the process to the principles of consultation of campus and community representatives,’” Boone said. He added that this is the historic norm at public universities across the nation, and concluded by reiterating that this kind of consultation will not occur at Fresno State. Geology graduate student Rebecca Asami concurred with the frustration over the lack of student and faculty interaction with candidates for the position. “I think it would be really great to see a meet-the-candidate session with the students, and to see how the candidates interact with students,” she said. Lisa Weston, a professor of English, aired considerations regarding the candidates. Not unlike Boone and members of the academic senate, Weston spoke of the need for administrative understanding and appreciation for not only the teaching done by faculty, but also the research. “I would want a new president to have a profound understanding of what academic work is: the sacrifices and joys of it, the lovely things we can do,” she said. Speaking to the press after the meeting, CSU board of trustees member, Pete Mehas said the closed consultation practices of the committee reflect its concern for the careers of potential candidates who could lose their jobs if their current employers found out they were considering a career change. Mehas insisted the closed selection process will increase the selection pool. Numerous people speaking to the See SEARCH, Page 3 Hannah Cortez, an employee at the Fresno State Floral Lab, prepares gifts pre-ordered by clients. The lab sells up to 62 dozen roses on Valentine's Day, as well as other flower arrangements. Rose bouquets are prepared in a threestep process that includes unpacking the 15 boxes in which the roses are shipped, allowing a 24-hour chill period and removing thorns. The bouquets and arrangements are delivered on Valentine's Day, begginnning at 6 a.m. Khlarissa Agee / The Collegian